Franz Kafka drew considerable inspiration from Ovid while writing his famous story, The Metamorphosis. This inspiration is readily detectable throughout the story. However, Kafka took an interesting approach to making the story his own. He also changed the writing style of the story to correspond with the time he wrote it in. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka draws on and transforms “The Transformation of Arachne into a Spider” from Metamorphoses by Ovid to tell a similar story while meeting the criteria of magical realism. One of the several ways that The Metamorphosis draws on “The Transformation of Arachne into a Spider” is by containing the aspect of a human being converted into an insect. Another way Kafka draws on Ovid’s tale is by including an underlying meaning to the story. However, he transforms the myth by replacing Ovid’s hidden meaning with his own. He does this …show more content…
The first aspect, an element that defies natural law, is included in each story by transforming the main character into an insect, an example of Kafka drawing from “The Transformation of Arachne into a Spider.” Secondly, including an element treated as realistic, is shown in The Metamorphosis by having Gregor’s boss show up at his house because he was late to work, shown when Gregor’s father says, “the chief clerk has come round and wants to know why you didn 't leave on the early train.” This element is shown in “The Transformation of Arachne into a Spider” by having Pallas appear and the townspeople act as if nothing strange has happened, demonstrated when “The maid alone stood unappall 'd.” The third aspect, revealing human truth, is done through writing a deeper meaning and message into the story. Kafka writes the meaning of his story to be not to take anything for granted because at any given moment, it can be taken away. Ovid writes to never be too egocentric because it can